Posted by Victoria Matiash, Special to ESPN.com
Shoulders slumped.
Eyes closed.
Head hung low.
Dave Reginek/NHLI/Getty Images
Manny Legace still looked a bit lost facing his former team on Monday.
Limply hunched on St. Louis' bench,
Manny Legace embodied the look of pure dejection Monday. After sitting out a couple of weeks with a mild lower-body injury (read: groin), Legace had a chance to reclaim his position as the go-to guy in net when the Blues faced Detroit. And he blew it -- big time. Allowing three soft goals on eight shots, he was mercifully pulled in the second period. Adding insult to injury, teammate
Chris Mason stepped in and stopped all 13 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, although the Red Wings eventually prevailed in a shootout. It's essentially Legace's fault his team lost, and he knows it.
So does the coach. Hours before the game, and only days after insisting he was still St. Louis' No. 1 guy, Andy Murray said Legace "had to play well" against the Red Wings. He didn't add an "or else," but he didn't have to. Mason's two shutouts in the previous three games provided enough of an ultimatum. As long as the Blues' have a mathematical shot at a playoff spot, and Mason continues to perform well, he'll get the bulk of starts. That includes Tuesday's contest in Columbus and home games on Thursday and Saturday against Edmonton and Colorado, respectively.
As a member of your fantasy roster, Legace should be kept inactive until he puts in at least one solid showing. His confidence is so fragile that even given his next chance, it could be really ugly again. And feel free to pick up Mason in the meanwhile; surprisingly, he's owned in less then 4 percent of ESPN leagues. In light of his stellar play of late, that number should be much higher.
Ice Chips
The guy is just so excited to play in the bigs. After wearing the wrong-colored helmet in warm-ups (red instead of white), Red Wings rookie Ville Leino registered his second point (an assist) in his second career NHL game, against St. Louis. It appears Leino will have at least one more opportunity to skate with Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa, as Henrik Zetterberg likely will miss Wednesday's game against Phoenix. Zetterberg says he's ready to return from back spasms, but coach Mike Babcock says he's not so sure. Even if Zetterberg does play, Leino could still be get some ice time because Tomas Holmstrom is still listed as day-to-day with a groin injury. ... Jean-Sebastien Giguere is becoming less and less relevant as the season wears on. Jonas Hiller started his fourth consecutive game for the Ducks, stopping 21 of 23 shots for a 3-2 victory over Buffalo. Hiller is 4-2 while starting six of Anaheim's past seven games. Teemu Selanne had his first multipoint game since returning from injury on Jan. 28, notching two power-play assists. For the Sabres, Craig Rivet put in a delightful fantasy performance in the loss: fighting not once but twice, racking up 12 penalty minutes in total. He also scored a goal and finished the game with plus-1 rating. ... After a disappointing start to 2009, Marek Svatos launched February with a bang, scoring two goals and an assist in Colorado's 4-3 win over Calgary. Svatos had only six points in January. ... Uh oh. Mike Smith has missed two straight days of practice with what Tampa Bay is calling an upper body injury. We should find out more about what's ailing the team's No. 1 netminder before Tuesday's game against the Islanders. ... For Montreal, Robert Lang is out indefinitely after undergoing successful surgery to fix the Achilles tendon in his left leg. ... Boston sent goalie Tuukka Rask back down to the AHL on Monday -- a bit of a kick in the pants, considering he posted a shutout for the Bruins on Saturday in his only game for the team. A massive asset in keeper leagues, Rask could become fantasy-relevant even this season if either Tim Thomas or Manny Fernandez are traded or seriously hurt.
